All it took was 15 miles to fall head over heels in love with the Toyota GR Yaris again. During our time apart I had begun to question my own memory. Was it really as intoxicating as I recalled? Perhaps the ride is a bit too stiff for everyday use. It’s noisy in the cabin, too, and it’s probably a bit cramped for my liking. There’s nowhere obvious to put your phone and it gets trapped in the door bins. The seating position isn’t perfect and the gearbox, whilst commendably manual, isn’t quite up there with the best of them. It’s like talking yourself out of buying something you want because you know that if flies in the face of logic. Many of the negatives are compounded by other cars, but then, is there another car like this? You loop back to loving it again.
Then you find yourself on a tight country road at night, the flickering green of rapidly passing hedgerows and trees on either side exaggerating the confinement of a road cloaked in darkness. Shove it through third into fourth and feel it rebuild its power in a crescendo of turbo whistle. The steering wheel is alive in your hands, the car entirely at your command. This, this is why you love this car.
Driving the Toyota GR Yaris
It’s fast without being too fast. Such roads can be bludgeoned in a supercar but they lack the raw, unrefined edges of a pure hot hatch such as this. You’re constantly worried about them bottoming out on the undulations of country lanes, too. Like Faberge eggs, you handle them with care rather than go all out attack. Moments of foot-to-the-floor acceleration are brief and the gear changes clinically executed.
The mighty GR Yaris strains at the leash in such a scenario. The engine barks and howls as the rev needle races round to 7,000rpm. The gear changes aren’t so polished because they’re at the behest of some oaf, me, who hasn’t driven a manual in ages.
An old foible presents itself in the sometimes clunky shift from second to third. I miss the shift, but even this brings a smile back to my face. There is it is, the imperfection.
I had thought that this fault was entirely the responsibility of my own inadequacy as a driver. Toyota have even acknowledged the prevalence of drivers such as me with the availability of iMT, a rev matching service which perfects your downshifts.
I have spoken to a few GR Yaris owners – they’re like vegans in that they take no prompting to make themselves known – and the same issue has befallen them. Second to third, you just have to get the knack down. The gearbox is the one obvious shortcoming versus my other favourite hot hatch, the Honda Civic Type R.
It’s just that the Type R is on its way out (at least in Europe). And it’s massive. It’s more of a light hearted super saloon than a hot hatch. Whatever the case, it’s brilliant. It’s also the only car in the same postcode as the GR Yaris.
Is the Toyota GR Yaris the perfect B-road car?
A tight left-hand corner approaches. The thick shrubbery means there’s no way to tell if anything is approaching from the opposite direction. Hard on the brakes and the weight leans forward. Third into second, iMT making the shift perfect. Trailing the brakes, throw the GR Yaris hard left. The moment it’s apparent that there’s nothing coming, right foot back to the floor and the weight shifts from front to right.
I was at Legoland with my kids the week before and the rollercoaster sensation is similar to this. All the weight loads on the right-hand side of the car, yet without protest the tyres grip and the Toyota GR Yaris balances out immediately as you straighten the wheel for the road ahead.
I’m in the middle of one of those halcyon drives. The car is properly warmed up, conditions are cool but dry and there’s a supermoon offering enhanced nighttime visibility. Crucially, the road is entirely my own. In such circumstances, on national speed limit roads, there’s no car I’d rather be in. This is absolutely perfect, the sweet spot of car, conditions and my own driving abilities. These are those little life affirming moments that make you glad you’re alive.
As my confidence grows, there are a couple of moments where I fear I may have fallen prey to hubris. Such is the competence of the GR Yaris, however, that such concerns are unfounded. It just rolls its sleeves up and indulges your every whim.
It’s loud and brash, but it strides forward with great intent. It goes against the grain, showing that bigger isn’t always better. It’s hard to think of a car this side of £50,000 that’s better suited to a countryside joyride. A Caterham, perhaps, but good luck commuting in that.
Perfectly pitching the Toyota GR Yaris
Similarly to the Caterham stable, though, the GR Yaris does carry the air of a situation specific car. The morning after was a commute into west London. Crawling through traffic, it doesn’t present itself in the way it does under starry skies. The ride feels a wee bit firm. The manual box becomes an irritation in traffic and you’re left to ponder the imperfections of the interior, which fall short of the standards you might expect for £46,000.
But you swiftly realise that these are not why you buy a GR Yaris. Sure, it’s situational, so go out and put it in those situations! When you do, it bats well above its average, which is why I’ve largely written this review around one drive.
The point is to deliver joy when the opportunity arises. Few cars deliver like the GR Yaris delivers. It’s grown in cost from gen one to gen two, but it still offers compelling performance at an almost compelling price point.
15 miles and I was back in love with this car. I could have turned it off, smiled to myself and left it on the drive for a week to be collected. Of course, I didn’t do that. I chased the dragon. Mercifully the dragon is always within reach here, each drive eliciting big smiles and blue language.
Is it perfect? Far from it. But when you pit it perfectly against a scenario, there are few that match it. So yeah, I rather like the Toyota GR Yaris. A car you Nan drives turned into a boy racer’s dream: is there a car with broader bandwidth than the humble Yaris?
Conclusion
My favourite aspect of the Toyota GR Yaris is that it’s fast without being too fast. The numbers are irrelevant to the experience, where they feel integral to others. It’s got some horse power and some torque, but they carry the GR Yaris along briskly rather than savagely. It’s as though this car was built for British B-roads. It deals with the undulations, changes direction with aplomb and roars forward in an entirely exploitable way. You can engage second gear, plant your foot and chase the red line without being overly concerned about your licence.
I drove the Lamborghini Revuelto across the roads that painted the picture of this review. Constantly worried its size, ride height and power, it was impossible not to conclude that these roads would be immense in something like a GR Yaris. And so it proved.
It’s a very specific scenario, but it highlights the philosophy of the GR Yaris. A rally car adapted for road use, it’s eminently fun and lovable. You begin to feel like you’re Tommi Makinen, the four-time WRC champion who was so instrumental to the development of this car. And who, really, doesn’t want to experience that from time to time?
It results in a car that I found impossible not to love. If you want to find things to criticise, then you will. But embrace this pocket rocket for what it is and it’ll have you under its spell, even when you’re missing shifts from second to third.